Today's IQ tests: Are they really better than their historical predecessors?

New developments in the field of intelligence testing have promised to revolutionize the ways in which educational and psychological services are offered to children and youth. The extent to which these new developments have translated to improvements in service delivery, however, remains unclear. At issue is the realization that despite new and better instruments for measuring intellectual abilities,; the role of IQ tests in the service delivery process remains markedly similar to that of 30 years ago. The purpose of the present article, then, is to evaluate the extent to which today's newer IQ tests represent an improvement over their historical predecessors, the Binet and the Wechsler scales, in terms of the potential for improved educational and psychological service delivery. The discussion will be organized using three conceptually relevant criteria: theoretical foundations, psychometric integrity, and implications for a multicultural society.